Yoga Calories

How many calories does yoga burn per hour? I couldn't find it here. Moderate exertion...

Thanks.

It's listed under stretching, here.  If you do a search for 'yoga' under activities, that seems to work too.  I don't think that we have it in the activity log for more strenuous types of yoga.  I would think Bikram yoga would burn more because of the heat involved.

But that one should cover you for general yoga.

Thank you! I really thought it would burn more than 217 calories per hour... I guess I'm doing the elliptical for 20 minutes for the same result! Thank you!

It doesn't burn a lot of calories, but there are so many other benefits to doing yoga!  Flexibility is probably the most often ignored of the three main components of physical fitness (cardio, strength training, and flexibility training).  Not to mention the studies that have shown yoga's influence on reducing stress, depression levels, etc.   Definitely worth doing even without burning the extra cals!  ;)

Totally off topic, but...

ONLY 217 cals per hour??  It says I burn 113 cals/hr doing yoga.  I do it everyday.  Along with pilates, only 154 cal/hr.  Heck, I ran for 30 mins yesterday and only burnt about 200 at 6.3 mph.  IT SUCKS BEING SO SHORT!!  The numbers are smaller for EVERYTHING. Seriously.

Yoga (& pilates too!) are still definately worth it.  I love the way I feel after a session, inside and out!  Have fun!

Yeah, I do Bikram and was surprised at the low number of calories reported in here for yoga -- after 90 minutes of Bikram it certainly feels like I've done a lot more work than when I spend a comparable amount of time walking @ 3mph!  How does one suggest a new activity to the site?  Other estimates I've seen range from 350-600 calories per session (that's 233 to 400 calories per hour).  I guess the low end of that range is pretty close to what's reported here, come to think of it!

I agree with the other posters, though -- it's worth it for reasons other than calorie-monitoring.

If you do a search online (use "yoga type calories"), you may find specific calorie amounts for the different types of yoga. This site lists "regular" or hatha yoga, but misses several other types that are pretty different. I do power yoga (ashtanga yoga), and that burns a LOT more calories (350-500 per hour, by some estimates)....it's not quite aerobic, but it's still pretty active.

Wow, I didn't know power yoga burned that many more.  Good to know - I do about an hour 3 times a week.

I asked my Bikram's Yoga instructor how many calories a session burned and she told me between 300 and 500 depending on body type.  I have seen online sources say up to 800 calories!

I would estimate between 200 to 300 calories an hour for moderate yoga.

How long do you wait between eating and practicing?  I find that if I eat an hour or less before practicing I feel nausated, but If I wait too long I get hypoglycemic.  Drinking an Emergen-c seems to help but not always.

I'm usually practicing immediately after work so it's been like 4-5 hours since I ate anything.  I'm always pretty hungry after.

It depends on the type of yoga. Hatha is a light yoga that just refers to stretching, breathing, flexibility...

But bikram, involving vigorous activity, poses, and sun salutations DOES burn 300-500 calories in a session.

I'm fairly new and still getting used to this site and how to analyze calories needed per day, etc.

I just updated my activity level in my account  from vigorous to moderate because I feel that three days a week of Bikrams doesn't equate to a higher level (although it feels like it).  What do you guys think?  Sound correct?

the only way to be sure of the calories you burn per session is to get a heart-rate monitor. obviously the more weight you lose the less calories you burn. starting bikram in 2 weeks, can't wait to (literally) melt away!

I found this helpful for estimating cals burned for different styles of yoga:

http://www.elysiumyoga.com/cals.html